Going Natural!

Hello everyone!  Well, it's been 5 months since I last posted.  That seems to be a recurrent theme!  Let's see...

We started our new homeschooling year using the Charlotte Mason method.  We began our new school year the first of June and my kids are loving it so far!  So do I.  It is so exciting to see them anxious to do school.  We are using living books for science, history, literature and grammar. Ben and Grace are remembering things much better using the living books.  Message me if you want details about what we are doing.  I'm happy to share but don't want to bore those who have no interest!  We also started French using a YouTube course with 72 lessons!  My children have taken Spanish for 3 years and I thought I would let them experience French for 2 or 3 years and see what they like.  We have school at the park, at home, outside under a tree - really nice to break it up.

My yarn shop, Simply Homespun, is doing great!  I am introducing mini skeins this month.  I didn't even know they were in demand!  People are using them to make "hexipuffs" that are then joined into a Beekeepers Quilt.


So, I decided to take the mini skeins and do a little twist (no pun intended) - I made them energized!  These should make quite a show in a quilt.  Look for more of these coming soon!

The Hines family has also gone all natural!  We haven't had sugar in the house in about 2 months - well, there is a little bit left in the canister, but it is about 3 months old.   We are using honey and stevia in place of sugar.  I still haven't mastered making a cake with stevia, but I'm working on it.  I did make some lemon lavendar muffins and they did rise, so that was a major victory!  I used yougart as a bulking agent in place of the sugar.  When you use stevia, you have to replace the bulk that the sugar would have given you as it only takes 1/4 t. Stevia to every 1 cup of sugar!  Sugar really contributes a lot to a recipe - sweetness as well as texture and bulkiness!  It is fun experimenting though.  I am using Stevita.  It doesn't have any after taste.  It is expensive, but using so little of it, it is probably going to wind up being less than sugar per serving.  I am trying really hard to use only food without chemicals or hormones.  It is really expensive - about double our $50.00/week grocery budget, but it is worth it.  My little 6 year old was starting to develop early thanks to the hormones added in meat and milk!  That was my motivation in switching our life style to an all natural one.  I made my own laundry detergent, am making our own bread from chemical free flour, and have gone back to raw milk from hormone free cows!  We are making our own butter from the milk so that has helped us save on butter as well as cutting down our usage of butter significantly.  All in all it has been fun, but I'm going to have to be more diligent in sticking to a budget and planning a detailed meal plan each week.  I will be posting our menus here so that anyone interested can take advantage.  Also, I will put the food cost up for you.  I wish I had this now from an experienced "naturalist"!

We are getting ready to go to our small group Bible study this evening!  So, until next time...

May God bless you and yours!
Kim

Christmas Desire

I was taking a shower last night and thinking about how badly I wanted my 2 older kids to come home for Christmas, not necessarily on Christmas Day, but somewhere close.  How I would do almost anything to see them and hold them in my arms.  But, alas, I can do nothing but pray and wait.   I cannot make them come to me.  Then I thought about how God must feel this way toward the many who He wants to come home to  Him.  He's there for everyone - waiting with open arms to hold them and protect them in the shadow of His wing.  How He loves them so much and desires with all His heart for them to come to Him.  But, alas, He will not make them come.  He just waits.

Now, let me be VERY clear on this - my older children, Jessica and Robby, have in no way rejected me.  I just know how much I want them to be here.  I love them and they love me, so we are not estranged in any way.  Those thoughts and feelings, though, made me think of our Heavenly Father.  If you are one of those kids who have not talked to your Heavenly Father lately - take this time to do just that.  He's waiting right here!  Arms open wide!  He loves you and desires you. Give Him a call this Christmas.  He wants to hear from you.

Decluttering and Loving It!

I spent all of last week, well between spinning special orders :) , decluttering!  We were living in total chaos - piles everywhere.  Everytime you walked down the hall, something would fall off the bookshelf.  "Mama, where are my ....?" was a daily occurence.  "Kim, do I have any clean underwear?"  Boxes of fiber filled our bedroom.  The kid's playroom was so cluttered with toys that they didn't even play in there.  I dreaded everytime I had to go into the pantry, because I had to step over and on stuff in the floor.  And if I got a can off the shelf, 2 more would fall on the floor.  I had about 47 jars of pickles I had canned from 07 that had turned to mush.  My dishwasher and table were catch all places for more piles.  YIKES!  So, last week, I don't know if it's menopause setting in, or just the good Lord chastising me for this total failure in being a keeper at home, I decided "THAT"S IT!"  I wished I had taken before and after pics, but I didn't.  We have given 3 carloads of stuff to Habitat for Humanity and thrown out 2 truckloads of trash.  Now, I am seeing the light!!!  I love it!!  I can relax, well as much as I can relax!  When Gene came home and saw the bedroom with no fiber boxes or homeschool stuff, he started running from one wall to the other - jumping and skipping around like a school boy, saying "I can walk , I can walk, I can walk!" 
I moved the kids bedroom into the playroom and got rid of a lot of the toys they don't play with anymore.  They love it!  They are spending more time in there creating and reading!  Who would have thought??  There clothes are all folded and organized and Gracie comes out every morning dressed and ready for the day! 
I made their bedroom my fiber room and homeschool storage.  That room is a mess right now, but that's the only one!  I will tackle that this week.  Then deep cleaning and we are all ready for the holidays!!  

Pantry - note floor and organization of canned goods!

Cleared top!

No clutter!

My linen closet.  It has a floor!  I haven't seen that in years!  This is a closet where you would pull something out and close the door quickly by leaning into it with all your weight until it latched!

If I can do it, you can do it!!!  And I can't begin to say how much joy and peace come with the hard work.  Word of warning:  Your home will look much worse in this process before it looks better.  Decluttering is a messy business, but so worth it.  God made us women to be keepers of our homes and that is to be taken seriously.  When we have a clean home we bring honor and our Lord and to our family. 

Take care!
Kim